2019: I can’t be intimidated – INEC Chairman

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said he would not be intimidated by partisan pressure.

“I have passed the stage where someone can intimidate me to do what is wrong.” Yakubu said in the current edition of The Interview.

He made this statement in light of concerns about voter registration and accusations by politicians that INEC could not be trusted to conduct free and fair elections.

In a recent comment, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, said the report of under-age voting in Kano had damaged confidence in INEC.

Yakubu, however, said, “I have passed that stage, where I can be intimidated, with due respect. And the real test is in what we have done (178 ‘mini’ elections) so far. The most interesting thing for me is that both parties accuse us equally. So, that means we are doing something right.”

A statement by Azu Ishiekwene, MD/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine said Prof. Mahmood said he had never faced any pressure from the Presidency, or any other quarters, to bend the rules.

“We know that poorly conducted elections are a recipe for disaster,” Yakubu said. “We will never tread that path.”

Ishiekwene described the interview as “The first barometer of Yakubu’s INEC in the last three years.”